Before the Adventures
by Agent FireBird
Summary: Before Nyte found out about being the prophesized Dragonborn (Well, one of them), she had a slight history before then. Dosen't everyone? Well, here's her story.


**Hey! Finally got this done! I've been working on it since around the beginning of Misbegotten Adventures so I am actully proud I got this done. :)**

Sunlight streamed between my lids, followed by voices, piercing the silence in my ears. Fear tore through me, then confusion. Where am I? What's going on? Who am I? I opened my eyes, to find three men sitting next to me, two in armor. All of their hands were bound, which I noticed, mine was too. We sat in a moving cart, driven by another man in armor.

"Oh, you're awake!" The man opposite me said, his face lighting up. _What?_

"Wha… Where am I?" I asked, my tongue heavy and unfamiliar in my mouth.

"You don't remember?" He asked, slightly surprised.

"Remember what?"

"Anything?"

"Umm… Am I supposed to?" I felt like I had to remember something, anything. But… nothing was there.

"Maybe." He responded, smiling a little. He looked over to the other armor clad warrior, who was gagged. The gagged man looked like he was smiling also but it might have been my imagination. The last man, dressed in rags and had no shoes, sat scowling at his hands. "You got caught in that ambush too, didn't you?" The first man said, looking at the man in rags.

"Yeah. If it wasn't for you Stormcloaks, I'd be halfway to Hammerfell with that horse." The man in rags said, still scowling. He looked up at the first man. "What's your name?"

"Ralof, you?"

"Lokir."

"Okay, horsetheif." Ralof said with a smile. Lokir scowled at him, then looked to the other man. "Who's that?"

"That, horsetheif, is Jarl Ulfric."

"What? The Jarl of Windhelm? Wait, if you're here, then where are they taking us?" Lokir was panicking now, looking back and forth between Ralof and Ulfric. Ralof sighed, shaking his head. "That man has no sense of respect."

The cart bumped over rocks and ruts in the road, the rattle of the wheels the only sound in the silent woods. In front of us loomed a large gate, which was part of a tall barricade.

"Helgen." Ralof said, the sound of disgust on his lips. We passed through the gates, houses and some stone watchtowers greeted us. "General Tullius, leader of the Imperial forces here in Skyrim. And I guess him and the Thalmor are best buds now."

I looked to find a very imposing man on a horse, talking to a couple of high elves. The man—General Tullius—had salt-and-pepper hair, which imposed he was about maybe 50 to 60 years of age, more or less. The elves, Thalmor as Ralof called them, were all women but one, who was dressed in dark blue robes with yellow-gold and black accents. They disappeared from sight, a stone tower blocking my view. I looked back to Ralof, who's attention was now in front of us. There was another cart in front of us, which was filled with people like us. _Or like them?_

"Shouldn't keep the Imperials waiting." Ralof said, standing up. Ulfric and Lokir jumped off the cart when we stopped, moving over to a crowd that had formed. They were all prisoners from the two carts, including the one I was in. Names were called out, and the crowd thinned. Soon, only Ulfric, Ralof, Lokir, a wood elf, and I remained.

"Ulfric Stormcloak, of Windhelm. Ralof of Riverwood. Athe of Riften." Ulfric, Ralof, and the wood elf, Athe, moved into the larger group that became the accounted people. Only Lokir and I remained.

"Lokir of Rorikstead." The solider called, looking up from his list.

"I-I'm not a rebel! I shouldn't be on that list!" Lokir burst out. Before anyone could respond, Lokir took off running, weaving back and forth. The woman standing next to the solider with the list didn't even move. An arrow flew out from a doorway, impaling itself in Lokir's back. He didn't get back up. Only I was left now.

"Wait, who are you?" the solider asked, a questioning look on his face. _Good question…_

"She's Nyte." Ralof said, watching us from the group of people. Okay… I guess I'm Nyte.

The solider wrote down my name, scribbling words furiously. "You'll follow the Captain." The solider pointed to the woman next to him, who was moving towards the large group of people. I followed, merging with the group of people who possibly committed indescribable war crimes. I wasn't asking.

Ralof stood next to me towards the front of the group, almost like he was trying to protect me. From what? The giant executioner over next to that head chopping block? Please. Well, there actually was an executioner standing next to the chopping block but who cares for details? I definitely don't.

General Tulius stood in front of Ulfric, both of them staring each other in the eye. "Ulfric Stormcloak. Some here in Helgen call you a hero. But a hero doesn't use a power the The Voice to murder his king and usurp his throne." Tulius said. Ulfric, gagged with a cloth, sounded only a couple of grunts for the statement. "You started this war," Tulius continued, "Plunged Skyrim into chaos, and now the Empire is going to put you down, and restore the peace." Tulius looked to the captain, then backed away from Ulfric.

The captain stopped next to a priest, motioning her to do something. The priest started talking about sending souls to someone when a voice piped up from behind me. "I haven't got all day, Imperials. Let's get this over with." The speaker pushed past me, almost knocking me into Ralof.

The speaker was a man, with the same armor as Ralof and most of the other people in the prisoner group. The man walked up to the block, sneering at the captain. "My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?" He asked, leaning down over the chopping block. A roar pierced the tension of the execution, causing everyone to look for the maker of that mighty noise. It resonated through Helgen, echoing off buildings and walls. The captain didn't look the least bit deterred and continued with the execution.

The roar sounded again through the mountains, just as the axe fell, almost like it was a cry of pain from the man that was once on the block. This time, the roar sounded closer, almost like it was right around the closest mountain. "Next, the lizard!" the captain said, motioning me to move forward. _Ummm… does she mean me?_ I looked to Ralof, who in turn, nudged me to the block. _Great. She meant me._

I walked to the block, where the man's body now lay next to. I really did not need to see that. I turned my head away from the body and the head that rested in a box nearby. The captain stood behind me, her hand resting on my back. She pushed me to the ground, preparing me for the inevitable. I stared up at the executioner, then the tower behind him.

Suddenly, a deafening roar sounded through the town, a black shape emerging from behind the mountains. _What in the name…_ It landed atop the tower directly above me, a hulking mass of scales and wings. It stared at me, its amber eyes boring into mine. Voices echoed behind me, dull against the gaze of the huge black mass. It raised its head to the sky, ripping it asunder with its voice. The force pushed me off the block and tossed me a couple feet away.

Everything was blurry, muted. I could see the ground rolling beneath me, colors screaming around me. Ralof rushed to me, helping me up. He almost dragged me to a tower opposite to the black monsters perch. I pushed him off of me and got to my feet. The door closed behind me, shutting out a gout of fire that erupted from the black mass.

"Wha-What was that thing?!" I stammered, looking to Ralof. He stood next to Ulfric, who was free of his bonds, amazingly.

"Could the legends be true? Is that really a dragon?" Ralof said, looking to Ulfric. I stood off to the side, peering through a crack in the door.

"Legends don't go burning down buildings now do they?"

The dragon, as Ralof called it, erupted a stream of fire at the door, singing the cracks and melting the metal. Ulfric and Ralof jumped away from the door as the fire reached through the cracks.

Ralof looked to me saying, "Let's go up to the top of the tower. Follow me." He bolted for the stairs. A dagger was lying near the stairs so I scooped it up and cut my bonds. I dashed after Ralof, catching up to him on the second landing. Rubble blocked the way, but a Stormcloak solider was trying to remove some of it. Ralof moved to help when the side of the tower exploded inward, the stone flying everywhere. A chunk of stone narrowly missed me, another hit Ralof on the brow.

The dragon's head popped through the hole in the tower, spraying fire at the other Stormcloak. He screamed, a horrible sound. Ralof pushed me against the wall, out of the blasting fire. Seconds later, the dragon flew away. Ralof and I peered out the hole, watching the dragon attack some mages on the other side of Helgen.

"Jump!" Ralof said, pushing me to the edge.

"What?!"

"Jump to the inn! There's a hole in the roof! I'll find another way across!" He yelled at me, pushing me as I jumped. I fell through the roof of the inn, rolling as my feet touched the ground. _I didn't know I could do that._ The second floor of the inn was partially missing, the stairs gone along with most of the floor around where they were supposed to be. I jumped to the ground floor, barely missing wood pieces that rose up out of the rubble like stakes. I dashed out the door, finding a small group of people hunkering behind the next house.

I ran to them, watching one of the men yell at a boy who stood next to a dying man. _It must be his father…_ Finally, the boy came, just making it to cover when the dragon torched the man. The boy was crying, hugging an old man that must have been his grandfather. The man who was yelling turned to look at me, the same man who wrote down my name on the list. _Small world._

"Still alive prisoner?" He said, motioning the other men to stay where they were. "Follow me then!"

He ran off, past the remains of the boy's father. I followed, dodging debris that was flying around me. The man suddenly toke a sharp turn in front of me, jumping down behind a house. I followed him, ending up next to him. Suddenly, the dragon landed right above us, his wing barely missing me. I fell back, hitting the man. He almost fell, but regained his balance at the last second. Fire spewed out of the dragon's mouth, burning another resident of Helgen.

After the dragon incinerated its target, it flew off again, leaving the man and I unharmed. The man didn't miss a beat, dashing into the remains of a building. I stumbled after him, still shaking from the immensely close call. We burst out into a battlefield, mages shooting fireballs at the dragon as it circled Helgen, blasting its own fire. The man lead the way, dodging the group of mages and heading toward the keep.

"Nyte? Nyte!" someone said, dashing through a hole in a wall not far from me. I turned, finding Ralof standing there. "I thought you didn't make it."

The man I was following stopped, then started screaming at Ralof. "Ralof! You damn traitor!"

"What?" I asked, totally confused.

"Hadvar, it doesn't have to be this way."

"No, it doesn't. But, whether you like it or not, I'm leaving this town. I don't care if Nyte comes or not but if she does, you better not follow."

Ralof growled, followed by another roar from the dragon. Suddenly, Ralof charged, his sword raised high. Hadvar had barley blocked the blow when Ralof swiped at him again. This time, Hadvar fell, dropping his sword in the process. Instinct toke over, and I rushed at Ralof. I kicked him behind his knee, causing it to buckle. He dropped to the ground next to Hadvar, who had grabbed his sword. Ralof glared at me, raising his sword.

"Don't." I said, standing above the two men. "I don't care what you guys do as long as you don't kill each other. Now, if you want to follow me, go ahead, but don't fight about it like children." Hadvar and Ralof exchanged glances, then Hadvar got up. I watching him enter the keep, leaving us behind. I shrugged, then helped Ralof get up.

Ralof glared at me, which got him a mirror of his own face. "Get going, or leave." I said, stalking toward the door to Helgen's keep.


End file.
